A bald eagle named Jackie, who, with her mate, Shadow, became something of an internet star because of a popular webcam trained on their nest in California, was in critical care this week days after she was attacked by other eagles. The attack helped prompt a rescue that has shed light on unrelated health issues.
The news drew an outpouring of support from people who have gotten to know Jackie since the introduction of a livestream more than a decade ago that captures the nest she shares with Shadow atop a 120-foot-tall Jeffrey pine tree in Big Bear Valley, a lakeside recreation area in Southern California.
The Ojai Raptor Center, the wildlife rehabilitation center in Ojai, Calif., where Jackie was receiving treatment, said in a series of posts on Facebook this week that initial bloodwork showed Jackie was “experiencing severe anemia” and inflammation affecting her kidneys.
In an update on Thursday, the center said her kidney inflammation had improved, but her condition remained critical as a team worked to determine the cause of her anemia.
Jackie also underwent a “successful life-saving transfusion,” the center said, though its post did not specify when. She was described in the post as “eating well, perching, and remains bright and strong.”
The center added that initial testing had ruled out lead toxicosis and the presence of foreign objects such as fishing hooks, lines and weights. She will continue to receive treatment in its urgent care unit, the center said.
“While we are encouraged by the dedication and collaboration surrounding this case, it is still too early to predict the outcome,” the center said on Thursday. “We know many of you are hoping for more answers, and so are we. Wildlife medicine often requires patience, and some answers simply take time.”
The center said it would continue to share information on social media. It did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.
Nearly a week ago, Jackie was rescued near Dana Point Park on Big Bear Lake.
According to Facebook posts from Friends of Big Bear Valley, the nonprofit organization that operates the camera, an eagle was first spotted on the ground in the area on July 17. The eagle, later identified as Jackie, was then seen engaged in an “altercation” with two sub-adult eagles, the organization said. Cellphone video footage of the altercation showed that Jackie was unable to fly away but fended off her attackers by turning over and using her talons, the group said.
Witnesses stayed in the area to monitor Jackie and called several agencies for help.
Duke Blackwood and his wife, Anne, who have a vacation cabin in the Big Bear area, were sitting by their dock on Friday night when Ms. Blackwood saw something coming out of the water that she initially thought was a dog, only to realize it was an eagle, Mr. Blackwood said.
At first it struck them as unusual, but they could see a small fish in Jackie’s mouth, Mr. Blackwood, 67, said.
Later, they saw Jackie with two other eagles, which they thought were her babies, Mr. Blackwood said. Then, around 9:30 p.m., another couple who had also been watching Jackie knocked on the Blackwoods’ cabin door to alert them that something might be wrong with the eagle.
They all walked down to the docks, where Jackie had hopped onto a nearby catamaran, Mr. Blackwood said. They came within about 15 to 20 feet of Jackie, and she didn’t move. She seemed to be in trouble, he said.
“There was no blood. There were no disheveled feathers. There was no scratch mark, no wing that looked out of place,” he said. “She just was still. And you’d shine the light on her, and she’d give you this look, and it’s like, ‘oh my gosh.’”
Neighbors went to get help at the local San Bernardino County fire station in Fawnskin, and firefighters responded.
“That’s our eagle, we’ve got this,” Ms. Blackwood recalled the fire crew saying when they arrived.
Firefighters stayed with Jackie until 2 a.m., when a rescue team from San Dimas Raptor Rescue, a rehabilitation center within the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation, arrived, Friends of Big Bear Valley said in a post on Facebook.
Jackie was transferred to the Ojai Raptor Center on Saturday afternoon, Friends of Big Bear Valley said.
The group said on Thursday that Jackie, who has been given several medications, was alert and was “still being feisty with the staff” at the center.
“She is still in guarded condition and can turn in a moment,” the group said. “Please keep Jackie and the rest of her family in your thoughts, sending positive energy and prayers.”
Jackie, who hatched in the spring of 2012, has shared a nest with Shadow since he showed up in the summer of 2018 and refused to leave, pushing out her then-partner, named Mr. B. In the wild, bald eagles can live up to 25 years or longer.
Shadow has continued to care for their two eaglets, Sandy and Luna, and protect the nest in Jackie’s absence, the Friends of Big Bear Valley said in a Facebook post.
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